


Escape Velocity  (Lambda Core Fanzine Work)

by BlueDreams



Category: Half-Life
Genre: Action, Escape, Gen, Grief, Minor Violence, Running, Sneaking, half-life beta material, metrocop, tense moments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:33:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24558472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueDreams/pseuds/BlueDreams
Summary: A freshly liberated Corporal Shepherd seeks new help and resources with a vortigaunt ally in the dead of night amidst internal and external worries
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Escape Velocity  (Lambda Core Fanzine Work)

The city died as the sun finally set. No walking, no night life, no street lights in many of the blocks. Civil Protection, with only their white masks illuminated, roamed one last time until the phantoms wandered off into their stations. They knew no one would risk going out with the curfew intact after years of sterilizing outliers.

The plodding boots waned in their sounds, sinking into the darkness to find more to trample on. Silence followed, save for brief breezes and a wail of pain someplace away. A couple of heads peered out of an alley to search for remaining patrol. A man with short curly brown hair and a vortigaunt checked left and right for Combine remnants. 

“Looks like we’re good to go,” he whispered. “You’re sure you know where the teleporter is?”

“The Shepherd need not worry,” the vort asserted. “My kind has transmitted images of a depot to the west. If we avoid the portal storms, we should remain undetected.”

The two moved on ahead, Adrian clutching a pistol in his hand. He heard rustling sounds and jolted behind a building’s pillar. The vortigaunt tried the same, but its body shape was harder to conceal, worrying both of them. They quieted themselves, holding still as statues. The vortigaunt shifted around, but Adrian shook his head. Footsteps were no longer heard. 

Adrian could hear his heartbeat from the silence, balling his fist and ready to aim. Adrian knew that just shooting an officer in the dead night would blow the entire mission. Yet he wouldn’t hesitate to kill an enemy that threatened the safety of him, his friend, and the planet. His strategy was to wait until the cop was close enough to grab for a silent kill. 

The officer stomped to the building until dispatch alerted him. Stopping in his tracks, his attention turned to some sort of “pathogen” within the district. The plodding boots quieted as the cop went away, Adrian exhaled and the vortigaunt relaxed its muscles.

The vortigaunt hummed in a low tone, “The Shepherd must follow while the beach is empty.”

“You mean,” Adrian quizzed. “The coast is clear?”

“Indeed! If the language lesson is over, we will continue our journey.”

Adrian shook his head and trailed the vortigaunt. The alien buddy traversed into the city’s rim, where more buildings were showing decay from chipped paint to broken tiles. The street held rows of tall gravestones, completely rundown from rotting and only used for housing remaining aliens that haven’t been wiped out by the Combine or antlions. A glowing green tint from this borderworld contained remnants of wildlife long forgotten about, but Adrian was aware of these.

His time in stasis was a mere blip, but Black Mesa would be in his future for the rest of his days. Every green webbing that boarded up abandoned homes. Every odd orange crystal that emitted light from a ruptured hole in the road. Adrian forced himself not to think about the incident. The sounds of lost souls floating before their time. The Combine weren’t a threat as immediately personal to him, having invaded Earth long before he arrived. Though he hated them as much as the rest of humanity, faces of slain marines without proper burials or recognition shifted his body closer to the cracking road.

“Shepherd.”

Adrian reflexively raised his head up. “Yeah?”

“This place… harbors an ill feeling, does it not?”

“It’s not important. We’re not in any danger right now.”

The vortigaunt growled and walked closer to Adrian. “The Shepherd is carrying a load that will soon crush him.”

Adrian sighed, looking around for any enemies before talking. 

“Does this one remind you of chaotic times?”

“No! No, nothing like that. I had a lot of alien help before this all happened.”

The vort shuffled in place, not knowing about the former corporal that petted a Spore Launcher.

“It’s more about this place and what it reminds me of. Soldiers weren’t always like this. Not like the Combine who just shoot anyone who disagrees with them. We gave our lives to protect our country. And our buddies. And over time, it was all taken away in front of me. The States are gone. My squad is gone. But these remain! What a joke…!”

The vortigaunt let Adrian vent until he raised his voice, signalling the alien to intervene.

“The Shepherd must detach the past,” it said with a soft tone as its hand gleamed a green aura as light. “It is important to not sacrifice one world for another.”

“What are you getting at?”

“The anger you feel for a lost familiarity is a noble one, but recklessness will make you jump to a platform that is no longer there. Many of my kin and yours have suffered tremendous loss. But all is not lost! As you will see once we press on.”

Adrian had images of marines in his head as they journeyed, each one an important member. The grizzled Andrews who kept the team going despite the challenges. The mysterious Wozniak who bypassed the strongest doors. The bespectacled Johnson who took care of his voltigore-induced wound. The nightmares of those days return, yet so do the images of friendly faces bickering and rejoicing. It felt different working for the guerilla Resistance, but he kept their ghosts to his mind. That need for comradery was beyond the military, but the closeness of knowing he had someone to die and fight for was valued. That certainty was treasured moreso now than ever in this remnant of Earth. To sleep knowing you can rest without fear or pain.

He sprinted to reach the vortigaunt’s speed after he came back from his state, and noticed it had stopped in front of a mountain of brick once belonging to various buildings but noticeably a church. The vort growled and looked around for a shortcut. A tint of blue light came from a hole that the vortigaunt spotted.

“This detour will not be planned, Shepherd,” it warned. “Do you wish to continue?”

Without missing a beat, he nodded. The vortigaunt entered the passage and ducked underneath trying to avoid scraping its back, while Adrian crawled through with ease. The two switched positions before going further as Adrian now led in this new obstacle. The tunnel was earthy but almost perfectly circular in shape. Its sides had creases of blue liquid smearing across them, unlike the green-yellow residue Xen fauna had. He could not tell if this was man-made, Combine, or a den of some alien, but his dutiful mind was now in gear. 

He heard a soft humming tone getting closer, almost electronic but he knew it sounded too melodic to be a machine. His grip tightened on the gun. He inched steadily as he saw the closure. The vort saw his tension and electricity emanated from its hands. The tunnel ended and Adrian peeked an eye out. He finally saw the source. 

Across from him was a long blue whip waving slowly. Its body was transparent, revealing glowing purple and green organs throughout the body. Its gentle swaying hypnotized Adrian as he moved away. The vortigaunt warned him and gestured at it. The soft ease of its movements concealed its barbed tip. Adrian kept his eye on it and motioned for silence as they travelled on. No point in fighting this thing if it can be avoided. What surprised him the most was the vort’s lack of knowledge. Was this a Combine creation? A new intruder? He didn’t have the patience to answer. In his quick action to escape, he stepped on a tin can.

The blue tentacle fidgeted and quickly pressed its edge out as it surveyed. Adrian and the vort stood in place, waiting for it to stop and calm down. The vort noticed the crevice where the whip came from changing. Another tentacle came out. And another. Each one searching around for movement. The two were frozen in fear.

Adrian could not waste a single action. The vort’s pause gave no answers. But could they just wait it out? The needle point was sliding closer to them. He shut his breathing off to see if they saw heat. Its movements didn’t change. Adrian noticed that only one of them was seeking out, the other two following it. If it was taken care of, the rest might follow.  
The vort was hatching something, but Adrian had a gut feeling to lay low. Electricity might not be enough, and it was loud enough to paint them as targets. He motioned the vort to stay still. A sound blaring from the surface reached down below. The barbed tentacle stopped seeking and moved upward, the others mimicking it. It was the Overwatch communication, possibly alerting everyone to anti-citizen activities. The robotic statement droned on, but the creatures went up to investigate. 

Adrian raised his hand over his shoulder to move on. The vort walked with him as the announcement went on. But as they trekked on, the comm link turned off. The lengthy tentacle roamed around for the intruders and caught wind of their escape. The two bolted and the tentacle quickly shot out. Its barbed edge pierced the vort’s arm muscle, coating the tip in yellow blood. Adrian heard his ally yell in pain and reflexively shot at the tip. He saw no damage, only his bullets encased in its membrane. 

His reward was a strike through his shoulder, causing his gun to fly away. The two ran as the vort shot lighting at it. A solid strike knocked it back only a little as it pursued them. Adrian spotted a turn and swerved to it hoping to break its tunnel vision. Again it had stopped just a little and was catching up quickly. 

His wound was a liability, but he knew how to conceal it enough to keep going. The tentacle didn’t stop for blood, and he was focused on keeping it inside him. 

“Shepherd!,” the vort cried out. “If we cannot stop this beast, then we can at least stop it from following us!”

Adrian was confused, but he saw up ahead a stairway. The twists and turns could stop it, but the strain of going up could slow them down. He had no choice and proceeded on. The vort shocked the tentacle again to get Adrian caught up. The two went up the flight as a barb went through the railings between the two. Caught in the structure, Adrian chopped it with a knife as it whirred and slithered in pain. They went up to get a head start, but Adrian turned around to see a new barb coming out of the stump. 

They went to the top and saw a door, but it was stuck too tight to open. Adrian scrambled for a blowtorch and motioned the vort to cover him. He saw Wozniak do this enough times to guess, but nerves were catching up to him. The covered his eyes to avoid burning as he memorized the door. The vort’s lightning held back this hydra enough to ward it away, but it slithered ever closer.

“Go for the other ones!” Adrian commanded. “Maybe they’re more vital than we think.”

“Acknowledged,” the vort complied coolly.

With a shock to the soft-headed one, it whirred and wriggled some more, giving Adrian enough time to steady his aim. It was halfway done as the vort recharged its energy. The hydra came back up and the vort at the third one, again stopping it. Adrian only had the fourth side left. The vort’s lightning shot again but missed the target. It ascended up more quickly to them, but Adrian torched the last inch needed to kick it down. 

The two went inside and hoisted the door up to block it from coming in. It was too sturdy to be dented by the blunt heads, but the barb was protruding from the door slightly. The two tried to give enough space from the door to avoid punctures. Its effort was a bending spear losing its sharpness. Its thrusts slowed and it soon stopped. They could hear its hums get lower until it was faint. Then it was fully silent.

The two took a breather and paused. Adrian exhaled sharply and tried looking for anything medical. He wasn’t quite sure what this building used to be, only that there were computers all around. He and the vort looked around for clues. Adrian assumed it was headquarters for something, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was for. In any case, he was more concerned about finding supplies. 

The vort searched the hallways as Adrian slumped over. The blood loss wasn’t as bad as it might have been, but delirium was kicking in. He got back into thinking about pre-war life. A time before aliens made him writhe and bleed. But he looked at his vort companion, and saw a bit of his comrades in it. Calm and collected, but passionate enough to yell out important signals. Bold and wise enough to lead, but humble enough to switch places.

It was comforting, to an extent. They had a shared goal in liberation after all. And it certainly proved its mettle in that ordeal. Something within him wanted more, however, as a way to find closure. 

The vort again brought him back to reality, but it wasn’t in the room. Adrian heard it in another room talking with someone else? The voices were masculine and low, but more importantly they felt disarming. He went to the hallway toward the room. He put himself into the dimly lit room cluttered with newspapers and technology. Above them were two friendly faces.

“No goddamn way!,” Adrian beamed. He saw two aged but otherwise the same faces he remembered. “I thought I’d never see your ugly mugs again!”

He hugged the two gentlemen, a skinnier Johnson and a huskier Wozniak. Johnson had looked the same other than wrinkles from old age. Wozniack however had an artificial limb replacing his right leg and a hoarseness in his voice. But it was too much for Adrian to care. His grin lessened with the final member of the group missing, and he assumed the worst. 

“I know, kid.” Wozniak said. “We still miss him. Wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have gotten past a damn strider.”

Johnson nodded. “He said he heard about the stuff you pulled back in Black Mesa. And that if he could, he’d promote you to a sergeant.”

Adrian nodded, holding back emotions he wasn’t sure what he was feeling. Sadness clearly, but also pride his commanding officer had for him. His lips quivered as Johnson went over and had him cry on his shoulder. He let it continue for a few seconds before making a face to wrap it up.

“You all good?” Johnson asked, and Adrian affirmed. “Good. Because I got a few answers. First of all, how did you make it all these years and still look like you’re 22?”

Wozniak replied, “Oh for chrissake…” 

“And what the hell happened down there? It was like a madhouse down there!”

Johnson ranted on about his questions as Adrian tried his best to explain them. All the while Wozniak grinned with calm satisfaction over things becoming more normal. The vort had salvaged around for supplies, but looked behind at the reunited marines. The sense of returning Adrian to his senses pleased it, and a toothy smile emerged.

**Author's Note:**

> Now that the Fanzine is released, I get to post the full work here and I'm excited for how it turned out! The Fanzine received so many donations, and I'm glad to be a part of that accomplishment.


End file.
